Day 5 Diamond Princess Alaska Cruise - Carcross, Lake Bennett and White Pass & Yukon Route Railway

Alaska Cruise (Skagway) . 2012 . Sep 19

After our visit to the animal farm, wildlife museum and the dog cart ride at the Caribou Crossing, we went back to our coach and continued our journey to Carcross.

Carcross

We passed by the Carcross Desert, also known as the world’s smallest desert on our way from Caribou Trading Post to the town of Carcross. The Carcoss Desert occupies just 2.6 square km, or 640 acres.

During the last ice age, large glacial lakes were formed and deposited silt. When the lakes were dried, the series of sand dunes were left behind and was known as Carcross Desert today.

As we continued our journey, we noticed that totem poles are still aplenty even in this remote part of Yukon.
And we thought that it was only more common in Ketchikan or Juneau...

The rugged beauty of the landscape as the bus winds its way to the town of Carcross.

Carcross is a small little town that was once called Caribou Crossing and lies between Whitehorse and Skagway.

The town has a very small population and relies heavily on the tourism trade for its revenue.

A raven sits on the cross on top of a church at Carcross.

The idyllic town of Carcross with a snow capped mountains peeking from behind

Tip: When you are in Carcross, remember to get a postmark stamp in your passport at the local post office.  There are five different designs in all.

Lake Bennett

Located just at the edge of Carcross downtown is Lake Bennett.

Tip: Head down to Lake Bennett for a moment of tranquility before the rest of the tourists 

  Crowds starting to come in to take photos...

Houses in the Carcross neighbourhood...wish we could have a house here....

Soon, we were on our route to White Pass and Yukon Route Railway..

 The famous ‘Yukon’ signage along the expressway.

Just before we were delivered to the Railway station to board the White Pass and Yukon route railway back to downtown Skagway, our guide radioed the station and found that our train had been delayed by more than an hour! Fortunately, all the cruise ships have been informed, and they assured all onboard that the cruise ships will wait for their passengers before leaving Skagway.

Tip:  This is one of the reasons why it is safer to pay more and book an excursion with the cruiseline, as any unforeseen delays caused by the tour operator will be communicated back to the cruiseline, and you can rest assure that the ship will not depart without you. 

As so, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise due to the delay as our guide gave us more scenic photo stops along the way to the rail station.

White Pass and Yukon Route Railway

The bus depot next to the rail station, where busloads of people are headed to taking the return trip to Skagway downtown.

 All of us in the same bus were told that we were allocated Carriage 10 of the train.

Tip: If you are taking the rail from the summit to downtown Skagway,  please remember to choose a seat on the right.  The gorges, valleys, rivers, waterfalls and glaciers are all on the right hand side.  There is nothing to see on the left. 

It had been a long and tiring day travelling up to the Yukon and back, and what with the delay in train services, it means that we have less time to explore Skagway Downtown before we head back to the cruise ship.

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